


it was quick

by saviourhere



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Pre-Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:07:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24091831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saviourhere/pseuds/saviourhere
Summary: For the discord prompt 'Crush' by jameena
Comments: 5
Kudos: 12
Collections: Flash Fics - PSON Whump Discord





	it was quick

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jameena](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jameena/gifts).



It wasn't a particularly special day; if anything it was dull, grey and quiet. Most kids would be outside in the streets playing, going for bike rides, or just 'chilling out', but with how miserable it looked outside, the majority had elected to stay indoors. Even if they had gone outside, it wasn't like any of them would invite John to go with them. It used to bother him; especially when he'd been younger and not as wise as he was now, unable to fathom why no one wanted him around. But now that he was wiser, he understood that it was better for his eternal soul if he didn't interact with them. Most of their neighbours didn't attend church, and even those that did weren't as devout as his family were. He had overheard his grandparents condemn their neighbours before for various sins and atrocities, and he couldn't let himself fall in with a bad crowd. Doing so would lead him down a path of temptation, which would lead to a path of sin; and he knew better than most what being sinful would result in.

He might be sixteen years old, but he hadn't outgrown the closet. His grandfather would still lock him inside if he felt such a punishment was warranted.

John had been doing his homework all morning and for most of the afternoon, only taking breaks for devotion and biblical studies. Keeping his soul pure and clean was important, more important than having fun with the neighbour's kids, or any of his classmates from school. He knew they all thought he was strange for being so strict in his faith, they called it extreme, but John knew was no half measures when it came to the Bible. You couldn't just pick and choose bits you liked and ignore the bits you didn't. It had gotten him in trouble at school a few times when he had voiced those views, but his grandparents had always come to his defence, telling him he was a good boy for not letting the views of the world sway or silence him. Sometimes, he wished they wouldn't be so strict, that they would be a bit more open minded like other Christians he'd met, but the last time he had tried to challenge it, he'd ended up in the closet all weekend. By the time he'd been let out, most of the skin had been gone from the tips of his fingers.

"Johnny, go help your grandfather in the garage." Looking up from his calculus paper, he saw his grandmother in the kitchen and was quick to get up on his feet. His grandparents never asked twice, and with all the recent health problems his grandfather'd had, he was needing more help around the house than he had before. John still couldn't fathom why his grandfather had gotten cancer, or why he'd had two heart attacks this year. If he was as devout as he said he was, why would God be punishing him? Had his grandfather done something wrong in order to deserve such an awful disease? Why hadn't he confessed his sins and turned away from them? He had to be doing something bad for this to happen, and if it didn't stop, he was going to risk infecting the rest of them with his sin.

He had been questioning his grandfather's righteousness for a while now. Nowhere in the Bible did it mention locking your kids away, and after the more recent incident, he'd started to feel resentment towards his grandfather. Who was he to judge him? Especially when he had clearly done something wrong himself! Jesus had preached love, he'd surrounded himself with sinners and taught forgiveness, but when had that mercy ever been shown to him? When had his grandfather ever comforted him instead of punishing him when he'd done something wrong? What made him so good and John so bad? Surely his grandfather should be punished for his wrongdoings? Maybe once he had been punished, he would get better, and their lives would be good again.

Going into the garage, he saw his grandfather underneath the car, probably working to fix the exhaust pipe that had come loose last week. John greeted him before going over to the toolbox, falling into his usual role of assistant. He'd learned a lot about mechanics and fixing cars from afternoons spent like this. His grandfather would show him a problem, show him how to fix it, and then talk John through the steps so he could do it himself. It was a useful skill to have, one that John knew he could fall back on if he didn't get the grades he wanted. John wasn't a dumb kid; but he was better with his hands than he was with his brain, and he liked being able to work out problems and find a way to physically fix it.

"I saw you and that Richards kid together." His grandfather's voice was slightly dulled from underneath the car, but John heard him as clearly as if he'd been standing right beside him; shouting into his ear. "I saw how close you two were sitting." John's blood ran cold, his heart beating so loud he could hear it in his ears. When had he seen them? What did he think he had seen? John would never..... Steve had been coming onto him, not the other way around, and John had told him no, he'd wanted to say yes, but he'd said no. "I never thought you could disgust me as much as your mother did, but you found a way to be worse than her." The disappointment in his grandfather's voice, the judgement and hate, it cut deeply into John, but more than that, it set a rage blazing inside of him. How could his grandfather judge him? How could his grandfather accuse him of something so.....so disgusting and wrong when he was sinning himself?!

His grandfather broke into a fit of coughs, but John hardly heard them. All he could focus on was the hypocrisy, and all the pain he'd endured because of that man. With one swift and precise kick, he unreleased the car jack from it's place, causing the car to fall sharply onto his grandfather, two tonnes of weight crushing him instantly. His grandfather screamed, snapping John out of his trance and he stumbled backwards into his grandmother who'd come rushing out to see what had happened. "It....the jack it..." He grabbed the phone from the wall and quickly dialled 911, requesting an ambulance and fire services whilst his grandmother tried to get a response from her husband. In his heart, John knew his grandfather was dead, he'd not made a sound since the car had fallen on him, and in truth, he didn't want his grandfather to be okay. He'd deserved what he'd gotten.

Hours later, when the paramedics were taking his grandfather's body away and the police were closing down the scene, one of the paramedics approached him and sat down beside him on the step. John had already been questioned by the police, and his grandmother had backed him up when he'd said the jack had suddenly collapsed. The whole incident had been ruled an accident, he had dodged a bullet, he wasn't going to be going to prison. Had God wanted this to happen? Was that why he was being spared? "Hey kid." John looked up from the floor and at the paramedic next to him. "I'm sorry about your grandfather." John nodded mutely, unsure what he was supposed to say in response. "Your grandmother told us he had lung cancer, that it was terminal....I know it might not mean much now, but at least now, he won't be suffering. My dad died of lung cancer, and it's an awful way to go." He patted John on the shoulder. "I have to get going, but if you need anything, promise me you'll talk to someone? A death this sudden will leave you in shock, but once that wears off, this is going to hit you hard." With one final pat on the shoulder, the paramedic was gone, and so was his grandfather.

But the words stuck with John. His grandfather was going to suffer a slow agonising death, and in one swift kick, John had saved him from that. He thought he'd been punishing his grandfather, and that was one part of it, but more than that, he'd saved his grandfather. That was why he didn't feel any guilt, because he had done the right thing, and in the end, wasn't that what mattered most?


End file.
